Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-08-30
BLiCK-MAILING OPIUM-TAKERs.
swindling Operations of an alleged Curer
of ths Opium Habit
New York Mail aud Express.

of the Opium Habit
New York Mail and Express.
500 you see that advertisement" o.
served leading medical specialist in
nerve diseases to g N2u ara Express re-
porter, as he pointedto slip of paper in
81 open letter he held his hand.
The advertisement read as follows
"The opium habit cured, withuu. psin.
Nc pay until the cure is complete VII
prescribe to victims Of the habit 10 their
own homes by CORES pondeEce. All cor
respondence strictly condiett;ll. Adj
dress sn O.d Physician, BvX-, StaticE-,
New York City"
"What of it,"
"It is one OF the most infamous
schemes OF back mail know Of"
Chow sO?"
"Y0u may not know that the hab!t Of
taking morphine and opium, IS 2 rule, is
confined TO persons of some social s.srd-
| ing. l. is not like drinking or otler vu!-
; gar vices. Another thing you m7v rot
know is tie extreme sec,etiveness Of sn
opium user. He will jeopsrd.zs his i'm
! mortsl soul dozen times 8 day 70 pre-
vent his weakness from being made pub
/ .ic. ID you see now waet an ingenious
?
ment isl"
"Not exactly"
"Well, will explain il 10 you as
know it 10 be. This precious scoundrel,
understanding the weakness OF the peo-
pie he hes to deal wiz, cunnirgly de-
yises i plan by which he is almost Ger
tain to reap golden reward. He is not
doctor OF course, and has no cure for
the opium hAbi.? His sdvsrLlsam 1t is
8orGed so thatit VIII bring out personal
letters of inquiry, in which the names
sGd addresses Of the victims ere dis
closed"
What does he do with tham?"
"Sends them 10 an accomplice il this
city, meanwhile keeping up his CORE
sp0ndence with his victims, drawing
them out sud obtaining all the damaging
} information regarding their disease llat
he can. His sCcOmplice now investigates
th.ir social snd financial positiJas. II
} satisfactory, he Call .. tReir residences
and, arranging private interview on
some pretext or other, proceeds 10 de
mGId money to secure his silence. He
generally tells them thst the doctor
formerly employed him as coaChman OF
b1tI.r, ani t-e1, white in the house, ne
discovered those letters which had been
} written; thst bis employer had dis
: charged him or that account, o. possibly
come other, and ne IS perfectly reckless,
ard wants I22rsY or ta will expose them.
: You see, it would never do for hin 10 ex-
:, pose tAe doctor. Inst you'd Kill the
; goose that isYs the golden egg. TIE
I accomplice, therefore, takes the entire
) resi- 5nsibihiy on his owE shoulders.
"Nine times cut Of ten," continued the
! ph7si.i2n, "the patient pays money
rather than have his condition known 20
his family and the world"
''WhY doesn't the victim protest against
this blzck-maii?'
. "H9 does sometimes, but only when his
family happens 20 bAow of his weakness.
Flen ne can defy the black mailer. This,
however, il seldom the case. This letter
| hsye is from the father OF one of nv
. female patients whom I EN- breaking OF
: the opium habit. IRE black mailer called
or his daughter sud succeeded in ex:Crt-
ing, Gil told, about $500 IRON her. Her
ia.ler discovered one If The letters ne
wrote for money aud then consulted
with me-"
81 suppose you had The fellow arrested
a. onCt?''
''Bg no means. That would expose the
: family secret which the father, NO less
than MS daughter, is most anxious 10
conceal. No." continued the doctor, with
? sigh. THE only thing that can be
done is to.give the scouldrel-a good
tbras1ilg and yarn him to keep away
l from the house in future. An srTes! and
= trial would be the one thing they most
= care TO avoid. Al, It'5 q wicked world,
, eh?i